The decision will balance America’s trade deficits and ensure energy security for allies, an expert said.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) revoked on Jan. 21 a Biden-era regulation that restricted LNG exports, paving the way for capacity additions in the sector and strengthening the U.S. energy industry.
In January 2024, the federal government temporarily paused the approval of LNG exports to nations without a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. At the time, the administration cited issues such as the effects of LNG exports on greenhouse gas emissions and rising energy costs for Americans as reasons for the pause.
The DOE announced that effective Jan. 21, it is ending the pause as part of restoring the “Trump energy dominance agenda.”
With the reversal in policy, the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has been directed to resume the consideration of pending export applications. The agency’s decision follows the direction laid out by President Donald Trump in his “Unleashing American Energy” executive order signed on his first day in office.
The Biden administration’s moratorium on exports had negatively affected several American LNG projects, including those in Texas and Louisiana. These projects are now in a better position to move forward, potentially adding another 100 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) to U.S. export capacity.
The United States is already the world’s largest LNG exporter and shipped 88.3 million metric tons of superchilled gas in 2024. This year alone, three new plants should add nearly 50 MTPA to U.S. capacity.
Before the Biden administration halted new permit approvals, the government had already given the green light to projects that would increase U.S. LNG capacity to 200 MPTA from about 90 MTPA. Those projects were not affected by the moratorium.
New permits issued by the new government would likely increase export capacity from 2030 onward because it takes several years to build LNG plants.
LNG is used residentially for cooking, heating, and generating electricity. Commercially, it is used for manufacturing paints and fertilizers.
